Device to hold the hair

ABSTRACT

A hair-holding device has a comb-like element having a base supporting a plurality of teeth lying in a plane. The base has first and second mutually-exclusive orientations in the plane and can be transformed between the first orientation in which the distal ends of adjacent teeth are spaced apart from each other and the second orientation in the plane in which the distal ends of adjacent teeth are brought towards each other. The combination of an operating handle exterior to the base and a curved rod the base allow the to be is able to be retained in a chosen one of the orientations and to be transformed by the user between the alternative first and second orientations.

The present invention is directed to a new and improved device to holdthe hair in the form of a comb or toothed barrette. The presentapplication claims the benefit of provisional application 61/321,227filed Apr. 6, 2010.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Conventional combs to hold the hair or to maintain an ornament in thehair often suffer from deficiencies in that they must, on the one hand,be easily insertable into the hair and, on the other hand, must becapable of firmly gripping the hair when in place. The invention setforth in U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,050,272 and 6,318,379 to the present inventoraddresses those issues by providing a comb-like device having a curvedbase from which an array of comb teeth extend. The base is transformablebetween curved orientations, either concave or convex, with respect tothe teeth. In the convex orientation, the teeth ends are separated,allowing the comb to be easily inserted into the hair, while in theconcave orientation with respect to the teeth, the teeth ends are drawntogether causing the teeth to strongly grip the hair.

A deficiency with the foregoing invention, however, is that the combbase must be transformed between the concave and convex positionsmanually by the user, who grips the base and performs a twisting-typemaneuver. It has been found that such action can be difficult toperform, particularly when the comb is in place on the hair.

It is accordingly the purpose of the present invention to provide ahair-holding device of the type set forth in the '272 and '379 patentsthat facilitates the operation of the device. A further purpose of thepresent invention is to provide a hair-holding device of theaforementioned type that has enhanced provision for the affixation ofdecorative matter to the comb. Yet a further purpose of the presentinvention is to provide an improvement to such devices, which is ofeconomical and efficient manufacture and construction.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

In accordance with the foregoing, the present invention comprises a combhaving a base transformable between alternative positions, which may beconvex and concave, with respect to a series of projecting teeth, thusdefining alternative open and closed orientations for the teeth. Asubstantially rigid curved member extends within the base, the baseconforming to the shape and orientation of the rigid member, which isrotatable. The rigid member has a portion extending exteriorly of thebase serving as a handle for the member whereby the user may grip thehandle and rotate the member to open and close the teeth, as required.The handle may take any of a variety of shapes, and may further serve asa means of adornment as well as a member to which additional adornments,such as beads, ribbons, medallions or the like can be fastened.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

A fuller understanding of the present invention will be achieved uponconsideration of the following detailed description of preferred butnonetheless illustrative embodiments of the invention, when reviewed inconnection with the annexed drawings wherein:

FIG. 1 is a sectional view of a prior art device of the type of whichthe present invention is employed, shown in the open position;

FIG. 2 is a sectional view of the device of the prior art device of FIG.1 shown in the closed position;

FIG. 3 is a view of a rigid member of the present invention;

FIG. 4 is a sectional view of a hair-holding device of the presentinvention with the rigid member of FIG. 3 mounted therein;

FIG. 5 is a sectional view of the device of FIG. 4 shown in a closedposition;

FIG. 6 is a plan view of the hair-holding device of the presentinvention utilizing a medallion affixed to the handle;

FIG. 7 is a plan view of a further alternative embodiment of theinvention utilizing beads;

FIG. 8 is a plan view of a yet further alternative embodiment of theinvention in which the handle portion is shown in the shape of a heart;

FIG. 9 is a plan view of yet another embodiment of the invention,similar to that of FIG. 7, but employing two rod elements; and

FIG. 10 is a plan view of another embodiment of the invention, in whichthe handle extends from one side of the comb.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

With initial references to FIGS. 1 and 2, comb 10 of the prior art, asexemplified in the '272 patent, which may be made from a ductile plasticmaterial such as polyethylene, includes a series of teeth 12 supportedat their first ends upon a base 14. The base is sufficiently flexible toallow it to bend or flex between a first position, as depicted in FIG.1, in which the base supports the teeth such that the distal ends of theteeth are spaced from each other, and a second orientation, as depictedin FIG. 2, in which the distal ends of the teeth approach each other,allowing the clip to grip the hair. The positions in which the distalends of the teeth are separated and together may preferably be definedby convex and concave orientations of the base with respect to theteeth, as shown in the figures.

Rod 16 lies within channel 18 in the base and is curved along itslength, with sufficient rigidity to cause the base 14 to conform to itscurvature. The rod is further mounted within the comb in a manner thatpermits it to rotate about its ends such that its opposed concave andconvex sides can alternatively face the teeth of the comb. The materialfor the rod is preferably spring steel, which can maintain its curvaturewhile providing sufficient flex and resiliency to permit it to rotateupon the application of an exterior force by the user. As the barretteassumes a curved orientation as dictated by the curve of the rod, whenan appropriate distorting force is applied to the barrette, such as bypushing or flexing the ends of the barrette sideways with respect to thecentral section of the barrette, the rod rotates or flips about its endssuch that its curvature is in the opposite sense. Thus, the orientationof the barrette or comb can be changed from that of FIG. 1 to FIG. 2 andvice versa.

As may be appreciated, as rod 16 is typically substantially buriedwithin the barrette base, the distorting force to change the orientationof the rod must be applied to the barrette base. This is often difficultto do successfully, particularly when the barrette is placed in the hairand is desired to remain in the chosen position when it is being“locked” in place.

With references to FIGS. 3 and 4, the present invention utilizes a combor barrette body having a base 22 and teeth 24 constructed in a likemanner to the comb or barrette of FIGS. 1 and 2. Extending within thebore in the base 22 is rod 26. When installed in the comb, rod 26includes a curved portion within the comb or barrette, allowing theorientation of the teeth 24 to change as the orientation of the curvevaries within the comb, the bore wall serving as a bearing for the rod.An exterior portion 32 of the rod forms an operating handle. As shown inFIGS. 3 and 4, the rod may define a substantially closed loop, withadjacent rod ends 28, 30. The opposed distal portions of the loop areinserted through opposite ends of the base bore, as shown in FIG. 4,portion 32 of the rod remaining exposed and serving as the operatinghandle for the barrette. While FIG. 4 shows the rod ends 28 and 30buried within the comb, the rod may also be oriented such that the endsare exterior to the comb. Once the rod is inserted into/through thecomb, the ends, if exposed, can be joined together or left separated.While it is expected that the comb will be molded and the rodsubsequently inserted into its accepting bore, thus necessitating thatthe rod not form a fully closed loop before it is inserted, it ispossible to mold or cast the comb directly about the rod, in which casethe rod can be initially be in the form of a closed loop.

With the rod in position in the comb and the barrette body 20 held inposition, the rod 26 may be grasped at the exposed portion 32 as ahandle and rotated with respect to the barrette body to change therelative orientation of the inserted part of the rod with respect to theteeth from a first orientation where the distal ends of the teeth areapart, such as the convex to the teeth position depicted in FIG. 4, to asecond orientation where the distal ends of the teeth are closertogether, such as depicted in FIG. 5 wherein the rod curvature isconcave with respect to the teeth, duplicating the action of the priorart comb/barrette shown in FIGS. 1 and 2.

While it is contemplated that the rod will often define a substantiallyclosed loop, the exterior portion 32 of the rod 26 need not have anyparticular shape, so long as the rod includes a portion exterior to thecomb body at an angle or orientation sufficient to allow it to begripped, held or contacted as a handle to apply a torque substantiallyabout the longitudinal axis or length of the comb to rotate the interiorportion of the rod with respect to the comb body, while the portion orportions of the rod within the comb or barrette body is/are curved toeffect the desired transformation of the comb. As depicted, for example,in FIG. 6, the exposed handle portion may be generally oval, adornedwith a medallion 34 attached to the handle portion in any appropriatemanner. FIG. 8 depicts the rod having an exposed portion in the form ofa heart.

In addition, it is not necessary that the ends of the rod, if presentand exposed, be in close proximity to each other, so long as an exposedportion 32 of the rod is sufficiently long to be engaged by the user andserve as the handle. FIG. 7, for example, shows the rod with exteriorends 38, 40 substantially separated from each other. While the ends maybe exposed, beads 36 may be strung upon the ends to close the loop andprovide a finished appearance. The distal ends of the rod are insertedinto a pair of the beads, the beads themselves being joined by a stringor elastic cord 42. FIG. 10 depicts an embodiment wherein the handleportion 34 extends outwardly from only one side of the comb body. A beador other finishing element may be affixed to the exposed end, again toprovide further ornamentation, a finished appearance, and to protect theuser from the rod end.

Still further, it is not necessary that the rod be formed of a singleunitary element. FIG. 9 presents an embodiment similar to that of FIG.7, but where the rod is composed of two individual rod elements 44 and46, with spaced respective exterior ends 48 and 50 and adjacent ends 52,54 within the comb 20. in this embodiment the beads 36 may preferably berigidly joined to each other by connector means 56 to allow the two rodelements to rotate in a unitary fashion. So long as the portion(s) ofthe rod or rods within the comb are sufficiently long and curved toeffect the desired comb transformation as they rotate, the exact lengthand positioning on the inserted portions is not critical, although it ispreferable that both elements be rotated simultaneously to effect bestoperation of the comb. In that regard, it is beneficial to join theexposed ends in a manner that facilitates the conjoined rotation. It iscontemplated however, that the insertion portions should preferablyextend substantially the full length of the comb.

Further, by “curved” it is meant that the rod portion or portions withinthe barrette body do not lie along a straight line. The rod portions maybe smoothly arcuate, as depicted in FIG. 4, or may comprise straightline segments not lying along a straight line, as depicted in FIG. 7,the rod portions forming an obtuse angle to each other, so long as therod portion or portions is/are so shaped as to allow the requiredtransformation of the comb to open and close the teeth.

1. A device for holding the hair, comprising a comb-like element havinga base supporting a plurality of teeth lying in a plane, the base havingfirst and second mutually-exclusive orientations in the plane and beingtransformable between the first orientation in which the distal ends ofadjacent teeth are spaced apart from each other and the secondorientation in the plane in which the distal ends of adjacent teeth arebrought towards each other; and means for retaining the base in a chosenone of, and transforming the base between, alternative ones of saidfirst and second orientations, said means having a operating handleportion exterior to the base and curved rod means coupled to the handleportion extending longitudinally along said base.
 2. The device of claim1 wherein the curved rod means comprise first and second rod portions,the first rod portion being coupled to a first end of the handle portionand the second rod portion being coupled to a second end of the handleportion.
 3. The device of claim 1, wherein the rod means is curved, thecurve lying substantially along the plane when the base is at least oneof the first and second orientations.
 4. The device of claim 2, whereinthe first and second rod portions are at an obtuse angle to each otherin the plane.
 5. The device of claim 4 wherein the first and second rodportions are of substantially equal length and together extendsubstantially along a full length of the base.
 6. The device of claim 2,wherein said base includes a longitudinal bore, said rod means beinglocated within said bore.
 7. The device of claim 1, wherein said secondorientation of said base is an orientation wherein a side of said basesupporting said teeth assumes a concave orientation with respect to theteeth.
 8. The device of claim 1 wherein the handle and the rod means areformed of a continuous element.
 9. The device of claim 1 wherein thehandle and rod means lie in a same plane.
 10. A device for holding thehair, comprising a comb-like element having a flexible base supporting aplurality of hair-engaging teeth lying in a flat plane having free endsalong a side thereof; curved rod means having first and second ends;bearing means associated with the base for supporting the rod and forallowing the rod means to rotate between opposed final orientations toalternatively place the teeth side of the base into alternativeorientations within the flat plane; and a handle engaging at least oneend of the rod to rotate the rod means about the bearing means betweenthe opposed final orientations.
 11. The device of claim 10 wherein saidbearing means comprise a longitudinally extending bore in said base. 12.The device of claim 10 wherein said rod and handle is of a continuouslength of spring steel.
 13. The device of claim 10 wherein said teethare mounted to said base whereby the teeth side of the base is in aconvex curved orientation when the teeth are parallel to each other. 15.The device of claim 10 wherein said teeth are mounted to said basewhereby the teeth side of the base is in the concave curved orientationwhen the free ends of the teeth are directed towards each other.
 16. Thedevice of claim 10 wherein said teeth are mounted to said base wherebythe teeth side of the base is in a convex curved orientation when theteeth are in an orientation to facilitate the passage of hairtherebetween.
 17. The device of claim 10 wherein said teeth are mountedto said base whereby the teeth side of the base is in a concave curvedorientation when the free ends of the teeth are in an orientation togrip hair located therebetween.